Sergio Perez demonstrates how to sit in F1 car after Sauber slices one in half

Sauber has cut a Formula One car in half, leaving Sergio Perez to clamber in and show onlookers how uncomfortable sitting in one actually is.

Sauber Chief Designer Matt Morris (right) talking to driver Perez as he sits in the cockpit of the car (Picture: YouTube)

Formula One cars represent the pinnacle of motorsport technology – but they’re certainly not built for comfort.

That became apparent when the Sauber team released a film of a car cut down the middle to show just how the driver – jokingly described by engineers as ‘just another component’ – is squeezed in.

Mexican driver Sergio Perez, who secured his first podium finish with the Swiss team at the Malaysian Grand Prix in March was left to demonstrated the low-slung seating position in the YouTube footage.

Chief designer Matt Morris tells viewers the driver sits just 10mm off the tarmac – any lower ‘and his backside may be getting a little bit warm’.

If that wasn’t enough to make you nervous Mr Morris said the kevlar tank storing ‘highly flammable’ fuel was positioned just 50mm behind the driver.

But despite all this, he said safety was ‘paramount’ in Formula 1 design and the driver was protected by the carbon chassis. The BBC’s Top Gear website said the video gave an idea of just how ‘terrifyingly unpleasant it is drive one of these things’.